Windsor California Copacabana Hotel — Hotel in Região Geográfica Imediata do Rio de Janeiro

We stayed at this hotel last week. It was our first time in Rio and also Brazil so we were unsure what to expect. From the moment we got there, everything was amazing. I will name a few:||The breakfast is amazing. There is so much choice and it all tastes really nice. I have never had scrambled egg so nice. Also on the last day I tasted the Brazilian Doughnut. It was so amazing and I was so sad that I only tasted it on the last day. There is one guy that serves you and I think his name is Ismael. His service was really amazing everyday. We tried to sit where he was serving everyday as we thought he was really good service and really friendly.||We spoke to some reception staff and there English was very good and they helped us out. So if you need help you can speak to them also. One guy really helped us with a trip that we were going to take.||As for our room, it was perfect. It was round the back so it was really quiet at night which is what we like. I’m not sure if the rooms on the front are quiet also but we were so glad ours was quiet. It’s not often you can say that about a hotel so big. The bed was so big also. We have such a big bed at home so it was nice to have same size bed. It was also comfortable. ||Also the cleaner was in the room everyday. I forgot to mention at the start that she also done a really good job on floor 10.||Also if you need to wait for a lift, it’s is always there so fast. Sometimes I have stayed in big hotels and you need to wait a long time but not here.||I guess most people mainly come to this hotel when they see pictures of the pool online. It is a really nice pool and also the service is good up there. The pool is really nice and you have a view of the beach on one side and Christ redeemer on the other. It’s was always quiet when we were there apart from Saturday which is what you would expect.||As for the area, there is lots of restaurants about. We tried a few places but didn’t find the food in Rio that good and thought it was maybe better to eat at the hotel. Normally we wouldn’t do this but we felt the good in Rio was poor in general. Hotel breakfast was the best part. ||Also there are not many supermarkets in this area. I think the nearest one was four streets away. You need to go on the back streets to find the supermarket. But there are no supermarkets on the front so I think this is common for all hotels on the beach front.||I had an amazing time in Rio but it’s somewhere I think you only go to once. But if I did go again then I...

Let me point out right away that i was not a guest here [and frankly will never be!]. I was [supposed to be] a visitor of guests there, so this is written from that perspective.

I went to this hotel as a guest of two persons staying there. I had been going there for some time until one day, out of nowhere, I wasn't allowed to visit their room anymore. I did not break any rules or have any run-ins with anyone there, so what gives?

First, a guy who is some sort of security guard walked me and my friends down as we were heading to the hotel to tell my friends that I can't go up to their room without signing in first. That's fair; standard and understandable policy. However, that was quickly contradicted when one of front desk clerks said, 'I'm sorry. No visitors are allowed'. He was so kind enough to allow me to sit down in the front so they can stare me down (will come back to this later). I declined and left.

How can you have adults pay hundreds of euros/dollars to stay in rooms then tell them they can't consent to have visitors in a room? This is not smoking or whatever else that would make sense to prohibit. This is especially inconvenient if you're travelling solo and meet someone.

Something also doesn't add up because the first time I went there, I felt so uncomfortable with the way they kept eyeing me. It was like I am some kind of criminal or someone in a space I shouldn't be. They even would ignore my greetings like they didnt see me. My conclusion is that it's either due to them being racist (one friend is white and the other is white-looking) or homophobic (and i am not the first to say this, as I've seen from the reviews). I am a (obviously, depending on whom you ask) gay dark-skinned man. Make it make sense. There is a much better way to ensure security.

Amyway, in conclusion, I will never stay at this hotel after that experience. It is a beautiful hotel with a questionable character. If this rule is somehow standard (I'm sure they'll later say it is), I would recommend singles to find somewhere else that is also worth their money and facilitates...

Hotel is in a great location, easy to walk around Copacabana and not a far walk to Ipanema. The wait staff for breakfast was very kind and there was a good morning selection. I booked a room with a balcony which I enjoyed looking out on the beach. Having said that, there is a nice rooftop pool deck too with views of the beach and Christ the Redeemer. The pool was small but there was always room when I went (through was there during Brazilian winter). I think the front desk staff could be a little friendlier and the reason I only gave 4 stars. I booked my reservation in advance and asked for a late checkout since I had an evening flight. When I called about this, no one could tell me a price or if it would even be available and I was told I would just have to see the morning of - my flight was at 9PM so this made it difficult to plan my last day since I didn’t know what time I’d be checking out. When I did check the morning of, a late checkout out of 1PM was offered with non charge and if I wanted to stay after that it was half the daily room rate. I was quoted $209 USD if I stayed the extra 4 hours. Having said that, I had only paid $270 USD per night so a half rate of $209 seemed a lot. I asked the desk man Thiago and he was just rude about it and said “it’s whatever the rate is today. “ I ended up just checking out early. He was the same man that handled my check out and again, there was no how was your stay, no hospitality, nothing. I just found him to be cold. When I went to get my bags, after tipping a man to get them out of storage closet, 3 doorman proceeded to watch me struggle to get out of the door of the hotel to an Uber, no help offered despite the fact none of them were doing anything. Again, I just expected a little better service. Maybe because I’m a woman traveling alone? Who knows but it was a turn off and left me thinking I’d probably stay elsewhere in...